Pours gold with an orange hue. Good hops nose with a bit of fruit and plenty of malt character. Nice retention and lacing. Medium body and carbonation. Finishes dry with good balance but a little extra emphasis on the grain. Understated and classic in it’s approach.

Medium gold color, medium head. Mild malts and hops. A hoppy, slightly malty pale ale. Full flavor. Good balance of hops to malts. Mouthfeel is smooth. Finish is crisp and clean. Aftertaste is bitter. The classic Pale ale. This is an excellent beer to drink ICE COLD on a hot summer day.

Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is an old stand by. It's on-tap everywhere, so the "ace in the hole" factor is a plus. I like that it is well rounded, medium bodied, and easy to have a few of. This time around I poured it into a pint glass with two fingers of head. The retention isn't as good as Celebration, but still pretty good. The color is orange/copper. I smell hops, malt and citrus. The taste is a little on the sweet side, but there is a good amount of hop presence for a Pale Ale.

One of the three major craft beers you'll find at many establishments on draft (the others being Fat Tire and Boston Lager), I got this at Famous Dave's BBQ when I was in Fresno this weekend. Paired with BBQ beef tips, on to the beer:

What's to say that hasn't been said? It's a west-coast classic with it's own unique beat. Typical of American styles, it leans towards the hoppy profile, with a grapefruit/citrus aroma. From draft, it has a creamy feel that's good to the last drop. I'm glad to hear from casual beer drinkers that this is on thier list for thier favorite beers, so it has appeal for everyone.

this is a great beer, its very smooth, and goes down smooth. there is a definate taste of hops with a finish of hop/bitterness. However the bitter finish is by no means overpowering. There is a semi complex flavor profile, but still simple enough for someone new to pale ales. A great first pale ale, but one that you will come back to. Great pale ale and great beer. Must try.

Golden amber coloring with a creamy white head. A strong sharp hop aroma and sharp hop flavour. Smooth and full bodied. Very drinkable ale, especially for those who apreciate hops. Not to complex, just a well hopped beer. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an excellent example of the style.

Considering this beer is distibuted more widely than many other beers rated on this site, I'd say it's pretty darn consistent. This being said, I still gave it a strict review. I have always respected this beer and would drink it over many others of its style. It's one you can come back to and one that you can find more easily than the rest.

T: Starts off heavy on the hops, nice citrus crispness with a pine finish. More malt balance than I would have expected - this really isn't a bitter pale ale like you may expect from the smell or the initial bite. Finishes very clean.

M: Nothing special, very crisp and a pretty even feel start to finish. Little to no aftertaste.

D: For 5.6abv, this is a drinkable brew. It's light for a pale ale so you can easily put away a few of them, and it's appropriate for any season or food pairing really.

Overall a solid standby beer, one I don't mind having around at all times.

This has to be one of the biggest available mircobeers available. Pours a lemony golden hue with sharp amber glints. A good pour with a fuzzy white head. The retention was good, although didnt last through the whole sampling, as was the lacing.

The smell is a tad more on the hop side of pale ales. A good citrus and floral hop aroma. This is backed by a balanced malt that is rather basic.

The taste is well balanced as well. A good malt base supports a aggressive sweet citrus hop taste up front. This is mixed well with carbonation that is leveled just right. The hop characteristic lasts through and finishes with more of a floral taste. There are hints of pine and earthiness to it as well.

It isnt difficult to see why this beers does so well. A good body and overall good flavor.

from notes:served a light copper / amber transparent with a small white film that leaves down to a film with a nice ring around the edge that left decent lacingsmell is sweet with good pine and grapefruit notestaste is light all hops, pine floral and grapefruit going onmouthfeel is crisp with the bitterness but still quite nicedrinkability is good this is a great alternative compared to BMC